Galactic Issues
by Angel Stryker
Summary: After saving Citadel and the Galaxy, another unknown situation arises that might prove to be the toughest challenge yet for the crew of the SSV Normandy...
1. Will This Work?

_**Galactic Issues: **_

_**A Mass Effect Story.**_

_**Chapter 1: Revelations**_

1 Year after the Reaper's attack on the Citadel, everything was still not completely back to normal. Some were still edgy about the fact that it was that easy for a large force such as the Reapers to get into the Citadel and nearly destroy everything if it wasn't for Commander Shepherd and his crew aboard the Normandy. In that time, there had been a few attempts to assassinate former Commander, John S. Anderson since he became the human representative on the Council. Many members of differing races did not like the fact that a human had been appointed to the council either at all or before someone from their race had been overlooked for him. Most of the threats had been thwarted before even concern had arisen. A handful, however, had caused some to wonder whether or not humans having a seat on the council was worth all the trouble it was causing. For most it was an unwanted question since they believed it had been a long time coming at that since a human was the one who saved the galaxy from the Reapers, how could they deny them this, without one of them there wouldn't be a council at all.

When the few assassinations that demanded action arose, action was taken in the form of Commander John Shepherd and his crew aboard the Normandy. Upon finding out how serious the threat indeed was, the Council would contact the Normandy, inform them on the situation, then let the SPECTRE-led crew do it's job and handle the situation which they did without fail. Even though SPECTRE's only had to listen to the council, Commander Shepherd wouldn't listen to anyone but council member, Ex-Captain Anderson, the man he served under originally on the Normandy and ended up being a big catalyst in him becoming a SPECTRE. No matter the situation, there was always a mutual appreciation between them that couldn't be matched.

Another acquaintance of Commander Shepherd that has since become a fixture in his life, is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. She had originally been stationed at Eden Prime before the initial attack from the Geth, Saren, And the large Reaper known as Sovereign. After the Normandy landed and the shore party which consisted of Private Jenkins, Lieutenant (Kaidan) Alenko, and Commander Shepherd was sent out, a few minutes after being sent out, Jenkins was gunned down by Geth patrols, afterwards Alenko and Shepherd saved Williams from two Geth Shock Troopers and she joined with them to finish the mission. After it was completed, she was brought aboard the Normandy and has served there ever since. After becoming part of the crew, she and Commander Shepherd seemed to have a spark between them that seemed apparent to certain crew members depending on who you asked. Before the big galactic war at inside and around the Citadel with Saren and Sovereign, she and Shepherd consummated their feelings for each other and things haven't changed that much since… Until now…

Before docking at the Citadel just for some R&R for the whole crew, Commander Shepherd decides to make a round and tell everybody the specifics on this little relaxation period for the crew.

"So you are saying that for the next 4 days we are to leave the ship and go about on our own on the Citadel?"

"Well for starters, yes, but it's not like I'm trying to force you to do so if you don't want to, Tali."

"Oh, I apologize. It's just that I am still so fascinated about the inner workings of this ship even after all this time on it. Will it be ok if I just stay here?" the Quarian asks tentatively.

"By all means, if you want to go ahead. Don't let me stop you." Shepherd replies before making his way to the door, "just remember that you can go out and walk around a bit if you get bored." he calls back to her as he walks through the door.

"Yes sir" Tali responds before turning back to what she was doing.

While making his way towards the Doctor's station, Shepherd ends up running across Liara and Garrus sitting across from each other at a table.

"Garrus, Liara. What are you two doing?"

"Just discussing different things , Commander." Garrus responds timely before leaning back in his seat.

"Yes, did you need something Shepherd?" Liara asks.

"Not really, just here informing everybody that for the next 5 days the Normandy will be docked at the Citadel and all personnel aboard the Normandy is free to do what they want for that time span." Shepherd informs them while not really breaking stride.

"Really? That's quite generous, Shepherd." Liara tells him while rising from her seat. "Maybe I'll go and see the Consort… I've never met her before and I've heard so much about her."

"Well, no matter what I decide to do. I'm staying away from C-Sec… Last thing I want is to cause a scene." Garrus adds.

"Whatever you two decide to do, just make sure you're back before it's time to head on out. Don't want to leave anyone behind. I'll have orders to give once we leave." Shepherd tells them before walking into the Doctor's station. After walking in, he finds both Ashley and Doctor Chakwas both standing near her computer looking at something before they notice his figure in the doorway.

"Shepard , hey." Ashley calls out from where she stood with a smile.

"Hello, Commander" Doctor Chakwas adds in while getting up from her seat.

"Hey you two, just wanted to inform everyone about the 5-day break we'll be having starting today as soon as we dock at the Citadel." he informs them.

"Wow, what brought this decision to fruition?" Chakwas asks.

"Just figured that everybody was deserving of a break, so here it is." Shepard responds while leaning back against a wall and loosely folding his arms across his chest.

"That's pretty generous of you, Commander" Ashley speaks up with a smile.

"Yeah, I thought so too." he replies while waving to them and walking out of the doctor's quarters.

"…How long until you think he notices?" Ashley asks the doctor in a hushed tone.

"I'm actually surprised that he hasn't noticed already, you've already put on close to 25 pounds in a span of two months, Williams." Doctor Chakwas replies while looking at her computer.

"Yeah, I just don't know how he'll react though, he's always into completing missions. You think me being pregnant would stress him out too much?" Ashley asks while looking down at her body which had expanded in the last two months so much that her fleet-issued outfit was looking extremely snug on her. All in all, her whole body had softened causing her to not exactly look pregnant, instead just that she had gained weight and quite a bit went to her middle. Her stomach had swollen out while her hips, thighs and breasts had each puffed out about equally.

Due to the gained weight, her armor was starting to be a real pain to get in and out of and she was almost getting to the point of requesting lighter duty. One of the only reasons she hasn't yet is because she believes that if she does Shepard will think she has let herself go and is becoming lazy, and she doesn't want anything remotely close to that to go through his mind. While not aware to Ashley being pregnant, he was fully aware, as was the rest of the crew, to her weight gain. He didn't mind the added weight and truthfully he kind of thought the weight was making her look more beautiful as the days and weight went on. So he chose not to bring it up at all while it didn't seem to him that she was worried about it.

After docking at the Citadel, everyone went their separate ways. Garrus to Flux, Liara to the Consort's Chambers, Ashley to the Upper Markets Diner, Tali stayed in the Engine Room of the Normandy, and Shepard met with Anderson just to catch up.

"So, what's new on the Normandy? Anyone kill someone else yet from always being in contact with each other?" Anderson asks jokingly which provokes laughter from both of them.

"No, can't say I recall anyone dying. Nothing serious has happened to the crew since you last heard from us."

"Nothing serious? So what's the thing that isn't serious? You should know by now that you aren't able to slyly sneak things around me with clever usage of words, Commander" Anderson tells Shepard with a smile on his face causing Shepard to sigh and shake his head also with a smile on his face.

"Guess I should've reworded that a different way then. Hell, you sure I should waste our time telling you something that's pretty minor?" Shepard asks.

"Out with it, Shepard." Anderson reiterates.

"Fine, it's just that I've noticed and I'm pretty sure that everybody on board the Normandy has noticed that Chief has put on weight. That's all."

"Damn, you weren't joking when you said it wasn't serious or that important." Anderson jokingly replies. "If it isn't really hurting anything, why concern yourself with it?"

"I don't to tell you the truth, in my opinion she carries it pretty well. So it's no concern of mine." Shepard tells him.

"Sounds like you and Williams might have broken protocol, John." Anderson tells him in a low tone of voice but still smiling.

"You've known for a while now that I'm not one to fool with protocol, Captain."

"Yes, I can tell. You still call me Captain after all this time."

"You're still Captain Anderson in my book, even though you're part of the Council now." Shepard tells him which is met with a gracious smile from Anderson before they continue their conversation.

Over in the Consort's Chamber, Liara is sitting and waiting to see the Consort since she was asked to be seated and that the consort would make room for her. Part of her was there to see just who the Consort was and how she was so renowned in helping others. Another part of her was hoping that she could help her with a certain problem she's had for a while now.

"Excuse me, the Consort will see you now." a pleasant-looking Asari tells her.

"Thank you." Liara responds before getting up and making her way to the Consort's private room. Upon entering the room, she takes in how big it really is before stepping out of the doorway.

"You may enter now, and please… Sit down." A voice rings throughout the room as Liara glances around trying to find the owner of that heavenly voice that seemed to resonate throughout her body.

"Thank you." Liara responds as she settles down on the couch on the right side of the room. After a few moments an Asari figure elegantly makes her way from behind a wall and takes a seat next to Liara.

"There is no need for thanks. It is my pleasure, now what is it that brings you here to seek out my unique services?"

"Well, it is a rather unique problem… There is this human that I travel with, along with others, not alone. And… I've been suppressing my feelings for him for a long time now because he's emotionally drawn to another in our crew. I really don't know what keeps drawing me to him, but I just cannot seem to pull my feelings away from him no matter what…" Liara explains

"I see, so you love this human, correct?" the Consort asks in a confirming way.

"Yes, that is true. But I do not want to interfere with him and the other girl."

"Very noble. If that is the case, then why do you require my services? You seem to have everything settled in your mind on what to do."

"I just wonder if he feels the same way about me as I do him. And if so, what has him drawn to this other girl in our crew." Liara explains almost sounding like frustration is setting in.

"It could be a number of things that he could see in this other girl. It could be something that has to do with her attitude, or her demeanor, or something physical that has him infatuated with this other girl" The Consort tells Liara which sparks something in Liara's mind.

"That's it! Physical, it has to be." Liara exclaims. "Ms. Williams has recently added extra weight to her frame… That has to be the reason he is attracted to her. I know what I must now do. Thank you so much, Consort. I will never forget how much you helped me in my plight!" Liara tells her on the way out of her chambers with a smile which is met by a smile from the Consort.

"Silly child… she figured out a solution that fits her on her own. Although I do wonder if this really is the correct solution for the situation." the Consort confides in herself after Liara has left her.

While on the way to her next destination, Liara is still thinking out what she figured out with the Consort's help.

"I will just gain enough weight to make myself seem attractive to him, and then everything will be right…" she resides to herself on her way to the diner.


	2. The Cogs Begin To Turn

While Liara makes her way to the diner, Ashley is just leaving it after eating her way to satisfaction with her doubts about whether she should tell Shepard about the baby. She finds her way to a bench in front of the Presidium and decides to just relax for a few and observe her surroundings. Unbeknownst to her, her stomach had forced her shirt to become untucked in the front from it's slight expansion during her recent meal on the Citadel.

"You know, if I keep up at this pace, he won't notice I'm pregnant until I go into labor he'll just think that I'm gaining weight." Ashley told herself as she poked her stomach a couple times and pulled down her shirt in vain because it slides back up after she gives up. "That'd be a laugh…" she continued,

"_If I keep gaining like this I won't be able to fit into the Normandy before I'm due._" she thought to herself which caused her to laugh a bit.

"_Well, all my life I've lived for the military… I think I owe it to myself for a little relaxing for awhile. Although I still have to tell Shepard and find out what he thinks about being a dad. The higher-ups won't like this… Hero of the Galaxy has relations with crew member! Baby is born!"_ she continued, then starts to worry. "What if they strip him of all his military credentials because of this?" she wonders then glances down to her midsection.

"I have to find out before I tell anyone, I already told Doctor Chakwas but I know she won't tell anyone." she decides before getting up from her rest then heading toward Ambassador Udina's office in the Presidium District.

"I can't let this damage Shepard's credibility and reputation… If it will, then I'll keep it to myself as long as I can…" she decides as she reaches the Ambassador's office, she stops at the door as if thinking if she really wanted to find out or not. After a few minutes she walks to the door and walks through it after it opens and stands in the doorway.

"Ambassador, can I ask you something?" she started which caused Udina to look up to her.

"Gunnery Chief Williams? From the Normandy?" he asked her, not really recognizing her at first before leaning back in his chair to get a better view. "At least it's safe to say that you haven't been wasting away while on duty." he told her with a smirk on his face."…I'd appreciate it if you try and act like a human being for at least a small amount of time."

She responded with a scathing look on her face. "I'm here to ask you a question and that's it…" she continued.

"Fine fine, what is it?""Has there ever been a high-ranking commander to be stripped of his rank due to breach in protocol?" she asked trying not to draw attention to her figure.

"All the time, Why, just yesterday a Commander was caught fraternizing with his navigator. He was immediately relieved of his duties and stripped of his rank." he responded without skipping a beat. "Why is it you ask this, Williams?" he asked not drawing his eyes away from the paperwork on his desk.

"Well, I heard rumors of a Captain on another vessel has taken a liking to his second-in-command." she told him trying to keep her voice steady during the lie.

"Really, and just how did you come across the information?" he asked her.

"A friend of mine serves on that alliance vessel, but she didn't want me telling you her name or the vessel because she fears that she will get into trouble with her shipmates." Ashley explained.

"I see. Well I'll get someone to look into this on the double, I must say I wouldn't expect you to be the type to tell on someone…" Udina replied but nods slowly. "But, I appreciate the information Williams. I'll get right on it." he tells her then asks her to leave the room which she does.

Outside the room, she leans against the wall next to it and just takes deep breaths. Inside she knew that that could've been hazardous, Udina could have easily put two and two together when it comes to her bigger size.

"Luckily for me he isn't that bright…" she whispered to herself then decides to head out to Flux, the casino here on the Citadel.

While on her way there she passes by the diner again and notices Liara inside with a good amount of food and empty trays in front of her."Geez, what is she trying to do?" she wondered but doesn't stop to ask.

"Whatever it is, I'm not getting in the middle of it." she told herself and kept on her way to the Normandy while subconsciously pulling her shirt down.

In the diner, Liara has just finished up her meal and is relaxing in her booth before getting up to head to her next destination, back to the Normandy to sleep off the amount of food she ate which hasn't done much except make her slightly uncomfortable and puff her stomach out slightly which was hardly noticeable at all through the uniform.

"I don't really know if I can keep doing this until I'm as large as Gunnery Chief Williams is. There has to be an easier way to go about this…" Liara told herself while relaxing.

After a few more minutes of relaxing, a human asks for permission to sit with her. Before he sits down she recognizes his outfit to be from C-Sec (Citadel Security). After light conversation, she finds out his name is Adam Larue and that he's a detective in C-Sec like Garrus was before joining the Normandy.

A few minutes later, she told him what she was doing since she figures that it wouldn't hurt due to him seeming like a really nice person.

"Wow, you're doing all of this for some guy on you ship that you really like?" he asked her.

"Yes, you see. It's just something about him that I'm just drawn to and can't stay away from." she told him as her eyes drift from him and to the ceiling as she starts to absent-mindedly daydream about her Commander.

"Wow, you really care about this guy huh?" he asked while he folds his arms.

"Yes, I do. As I said, I don't know what it really is about him but I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame. I just really hope that I do not end up how the moth does when it finally becomes one with it's flame." she told him as a waitress brought her bill and sets it on the table with a smile.

"Don't worry about the bill, I'll pay." he told her before taking out the correct amount of credits.

"No, I can't trouble you with this." she replied with almost a hint of embarrassment from realizing how much she ate and what might be said about it.

"No no, I insist. It's the least I can do for you letting me sit here and talk with you." he replied and sets the money on the table for the bill with a smile.

"Th-thank you very much." she tells him blushing slightly.

"Don't mention it, so have you figured out exactly what you will do about your situation Liara?"

"Well, no not exactly…" she responded trying not to draw attention to her slightly puffed out abdomen.

"Why don't you just hire someone to take her off his hands for a bit so you can, you know, move in on him?" he suggested in an innocent tone of voice."What do you mean?"

"Well, I know there are some people that would do anything for credits. So why don't you just ask some guys that I know down at C-Sec to ask permission to bring Chief Williams aboard their ship for a light mission to give them an assessment? Kinda like a shakedown run."

"Do you really think that would work? Our crew is docked here for the next five days and I doubt that our Commander would leave without her… So maybe it would work, as long as she doesn't get hurt… I'd feel so horrible if she got hurt because of an idea of mine…" Liara responded.

"I can get right on it and have it all set up to where she would get contacted later tonight and the ship and crew, with Chief Williams would ship out tomorrow morning, then be back three days later." he told her with a smile.

"Wow, you would do all of that just for me?" she asked not really believing all of this.

"Yeah, besides, I always like doing things for beautiful ladies such as yourself" he replies as he gets up and starts to leave. "Nice meeting you, Liara. I'll be in touch." he called out as he walked to the door.

"Bye and thank you so much!" she called back to him then leaned back in her seat again unable to remove the smile that had seemed to have become cemented to her. On the other side of the closed door to the diner however, Adam has an evil sneer on his face after his conversation with Liara.

"So the almighty Normandy crew with it's heralded leader, Commander John Shepard is docked here at the Citadel for the next five days… And one of the crew happens to have a thing for him and wants one of the others out of the way? I guess I can make her dream come true… As well as our own." he thought to himself.

"Holding a love interest of the great Commander Shepard hostage is a perfect plan to grab the attention of every Alliance Fleet vessel out there. And if I have everyone's attention on me and the girl, then nobody will any the wiser about what's really going on…"


	3. The Big Reveal

**The Big Reveal**

Later on in the day after everyone had returned to the Normandy, Adam contacted them just like he promised Liara he would.

"Commander Shepard, we have a call coming from an alliance vessel called the… Bismarck. You wanna patch it through?" Joker informs Shepard who's in the COMM room by himself.

"Sure, go ahead."

After a few seconds worth of waiting, static comes across the COMM followed by a voice."Commander John Shepard, you read?"

"Five by Five"

"Good, My name is Adam Levine, I'm the Commander of the Bismarck and I'd like to make a request of you."

"The Bismarck? I don't recall hearing about that vessel, you new?"

"Yes, initiated two weeks ago. We haven't even made a trip in it yet. That's where the request comes in."

"Well what's this request then?" Shepard responded as he shifted his weight in the chair.

"Well, we need to go off on our first mission, but to do that the Council required us to put in a request to veteran crew to borrow a member of their crew to evaluate us on the mission. We were hoping we could use one of your crew members since… Well, who wouldn't like to be evaluated by someone from the crew of the Normandy?" Adam told him trying to sound in awe of all the accomplishments the crew of the Normandy are responsible for.

"Well, I guess we can spare a member. Does it matter who I send?"

"Well, I think we'd be better off with someone who's very stern and isn't shy about voicing their opinion." he explained to him remembering what Liara told him about Ashley's demeanor.

"Hm, you almost described one of our crew to a T"

"Really? Who?"

"Lt. Commander Ashley Williams, her personality was the one you almost described perfectly. She's our second-in-command."

"Oh, well would it be alright if she came along with us? You'd be doing a great service to us, Commander Shepard." Adam asked pleadingly.

"Well, I'd have to talk it over with her first. But I'll get back to you as soon as I find out if she's alright with it. Normandy Out" and with that, the wheels were sent back into spinning inside the brain of Adam Levine.

_"He's falling for this easier than I thought, perhaps the great Commander John Shepard isn't as highly touted as the Council makes him look from afar…"_

After a few hours of waiting for Ashley to return to the Normandy, she was informed that Shepard was waiting for her in his quarters. On the way there, all sorts of thoughts bubbled up to the surface of her mind…

"…What if this is for what I think it is? What if he really does want to be with me that bad even though as far as he knows I've gained weight?" She begins to think while waiting on a door to open.

"I guess before I really start thinking of weird things I might want to see what this is all about first…" she resided to herself as the door to his room opened and she steppedin.

As he saw her figure appear in the doorway and walk in, Shepard's face softened into a warming smile to her as he looked at her softened figure. True she had gained weight from his point of view, but she still was absolutely gorgeous in his eyes. Something that happened to catch his eye was the fact that about an inch or so of the bottom of her stomach had come into view underneath her now-untucked shirt. Also he noted that she had developed a slight muffin top effect from what he could tell, overall her whole attire had become increasingly difficult to wear as the pounds crept on. Deep down inside, he wondered how he felt about it himself, but right now he was in love with the sight before him.

"You wanted to see me, Shepard?" she asked after the door slid shut behind her.

"Yeah, I did, glad Joker relayed the message. Sit down" he told her, not in a stern way, but in a welcoming way which prompted her to make her way over to the edge of his bunk and sit down on it.

As she did so she felt her shirt come untucked in the back, she wanted to reach behind her and tuck it back in but she was afraid it would draw unwanted attention to her growing waistline.

"What did you need?" she asked after getting settled.

"Well, there are a few things that I wanted to talk about. For starters, I was contacted earlier today by a ship called The Bismarck. They wanted to know if I could send over a crew member to grade them on their maiden voyage and first mission. The guy I talked to said they'd prefer someone who's strict and opinionated to come with them on their shakedown run."

"Oh ok, and I take it you selected me for it?"

"Well, I suggested you since your personality fit what they asked for. If you don't want to go then I could possibly ask Garrus or maybe even Liara to go instead."

"Well, I think it'd be a good thing for me to do this. Maybe some time away might help us all?"

"Well if you want, I can contact them again and tell them that you've agreed to go with them on the shakedown. But first things first… I want something to linger on while you're away with them…" he told her with a smile on his face as he stood up and walked over towards her.

"Oh, is that right? More fraternization, Commander?" she responded with a smile also on her face while she slowly leant back on her elbows.

"Hey, nobody has to know…" he tells her before she lays back on the bed and he straddled her hips on his they begin to interact with each other.

Ashley, at first, seemed reluctant to take any of her gear off in fear of ruining the moment for them. After a few minutes of unsuccessful clothing removal on Shepard's part since Ashley seemed to nonchalantly move his hands away from her when he started removing her clothes, after a few minutes of this he got a little agitated and brought it up.

"Ash, why does it seem like you don't want to do anything?" he asked her while moving from his position of straddling her to sitting next to her on the bunk.

_"Ah damn… Gotta think up something…" _she thought to herself, eventually she decided to come clean with her worries."Well, it's just that I've gained weight. And I wasn't sure if you'd noticed and I didn't want to make you sick by taking my clothes off and stuff." she replied while sitting up.

_"She can't be serious… She doesn't think anyone's noticed her weight?"_ he asked himself."Oh, well sorry to say, Chief, but I've noticed. And to tell the truth it doesn't gross me out at all. You're still pretty damn beautiful if you ask me"

After hearing his approval of her looks, she smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"If you feel that way than I guess that also means that you won't mind waiting on my return from the Bismarck to finish up this violation of Code of Conduct, right?"

"What?"

"I'm just saying, if you still approve me. Then why do a rush job right now when we can have all the time we want when I come back?" she suggested while rising from the bunk and straightening her clothes and hair.

"I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but since you do love me… You wouldn't mind one bit about waiting for me, right?"

"Well of course I'd wait for you, but wha-"

"Then it's settled, I'll go on The Bismarck's shakedown run and we'll continue this when I get back." she told him with a smirk on her face as she exited his room, leaving him slack-jawed.

"Uh… What in the hell just happened in here?" Shepard thought aloud while looking around and blinking.

******On The Bridge******

"So, you heard?"

"About Ash going aboard that ship for their shakedown?"

"Yeah, apparently Shepard gave it the green light. So we'll be without number two for a bit."

"I'm sure we'll manage, I just hope that she doesn't end up scaring them out of continuing on after the shakedown run. She has a way with words you know."

"Well Garrus, if I didn't know that by now I'd have to be crippled AND deaf." Joker replied with a chuckle.

"Either deaf of just plain stupid." Garrus told him and they both got a laugh out of the conversation.

"What's so funny?" Liara asked as she made her way to behind Joker's seat.

"Ah, just talking about the Chief." Joker told her.

"And about how we hope she doesn't scare that that new crew out of continuing their services after the shakedown she's accompanying them on." Garrus finished.

"Oh, I see."

"Yep, she has a certain way of… uh, how should I say this, Garrus?"

"She can be a bitch." Garrus finished before looking over to Joker who winced at his choice of words before giving off a long sigh and shaking his head.

"Man… I could've said that. I was trying to think of a softer word than that." he told Garrus.

"How was I supposed to know that you didn't want me to say something when you hadn't told me anything?"

"Tch… Never mind, just remember that if you-know-who comes asking, you're the one that called the Chief a bitch…"

"Um, I think I'll take my leave now." Liara chimed in before waving as she walked away from the two of them.

"Man… she's letting herself go." Joker said quietly as he saw her leave out of the corner of his eye.

"Letting herself go? I take it that's another one of those human phrases?" Garrus asked, which resulted in Joker placing his face in the palm of his hand and sighing…

"God, Garrus..."


	4. The Truth Comes Out

**Chapter 4: The Truth Comes Out**

"So, Commander. It's been two days since the Chief left. How ya holding up?"

"Joker, are we seriously talking about this now?"

"What'd I do?" Joker responded, "I was just asking a question, sir."

"I'm standing in front of Udina, Joker…" Shepard told him before glancing back towards Udina who was watching intently.

"Oh!… Uh… Sorry, Joker out." Joker hastily replies before ending the transmission.

"Nice one, Joker…" Doctor Chakwas chimed in from behind him.

"Hey, I didn't know!"

"Next time be more careful with things like that," she continued. "We both know what would happen if Udina found out about Shepard and Williams."

"I got it, Doc."

"I hope so, the last thing we need is for those two to be taken off the ship and we get handed a rookie still trying to earn his way." Wrex added from behind both of them.

"I agree with Wrex, just not in the way he put it." Chakwas added.

"Listen, I'm sorry alright?! Geez!" Joker yelled frustratingly.

{2 Hours Later…}

"What the hell, Joker?!" Shepard yelled at his pilot. "Are you trying to get me stripped of command and rank?!"

"I'm sorry, Commander…"

"Goddamn… Udina heard what you said and grilled me on just what you were talking about."

"But you got out of it, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that he wants to send over a replacement while she's away."

"So?"

"You want someone new to be a rank over you?"

"So?"

"A new person that just shows up out of the blue and can outrank you and order you around if she wants?"

"S-" Joker starts before being cut off by Shepard.

"Joker… If you say 'So' again… I swear you won't like the results…" Shepard tells him.

"Commander, I'm sorry I didn't know Udina was there. Besides, having someone pick up where Chief left while she's gone will be good, right?" he asked which Shepard responded by simply walking off, visibly upset.

"You're gonna get it, Joker."

"Oh shut up, Garrus…" Joker told him before returning to focusing on the ship's controls.

* * *

"Sir, can't you do something about this?" Shepard asks. "If Udina gets someone else onboard it's just probably going to be someone just sent to keep tabs on us."

"Shepard, I've already said that I can't do anything or it'll look like I'm playing favorites and I can't do that."

"But sir-"

"No buts!" Anderson interjects. "Do you even know who this mystery person is?"

"No sir."

"Then why are you getting all worked up over something like this?" Anderson asked, "It's not like you to let something as trivial as this get to you so badly."

"I just have a bad feeling about this is all I'm saying, sir."

"Then have a bad feeling, there's not a law around that says you can't. But don't start making conspiracy theories about everything you don't happen to like."

"Yes sir."

"I know how much you care about Chief Williams, but we both know she'll be back. So just deal with having someone new around to help pick up her slack, it's that simple, Shepard."

"Why do I feel like a child who's getting reprimanded by his father?" Shepard asks, a smirk appearing on his face which seemed to have spread to Anderson's as well.

"I'll be looking forward to our next 'heart to heart', Anderson out."

Back on the Bismarck, Ashley had been taken to a glorified holding room. It looked roughly like a regular room that a member of the crew would stay in.

"Why in the hell would he put me in a room like this?" she wondered as she looked at the well-furnished surroundings. "I'm a hostage… and he puts me in a room like this, something's not adding up…"

She sat down on the bed and began to think about the circumstances. She had been tricked into coming onboard and was now their hostage yet she didn't even know why they even needed a hostage…

"_Wait, do they know?!" _she yelled out in her head as her hands started to move towards her stomach but were stopped when the door opened up and Adam walked in.

"Hello, Ms. Williams." he commented before sitting down on the desk in her room. "Wondering what I'm doing?"

"Actually, I'm wondering how long it'd take for me to kill you, given the chance."

"Someone's fiesty, well even if you had the chance I doubt that you could catch me anyways." he told her with a smirk, "Looks like someone's been eating their way to maternity leave."

"You asshole…" she responded and began to rise from the bed.

"What? I'm just saying that if you keep it up, people might start to think there's a bun in that oven." he mockingly explained before motioning to his gun which got her to sit back down.

"There's really no need to be rash and try anything, Ms. Williams. After all, you could be down with the rest of the trash."

"Why aren't I? I'm a prisoner, right?"

"No, no… You're more like a bargaining chip. You see, as long as you're onboard I'm like a Spectre."

"Meaning?"

"I'm untouchable by the law, the only ones that can take me down are Spectre's. Namely one…" he told her before making his way out of her room.

"You mean Shepard, don't you?"

"A Commanding Officer never tells a secret." he replied in a sing-song tone before he shut her door behind him.

"Son of a bitch… This was all to get Shepard…" she told herself before turning back to the window and looking into the deep depths of space. "Can't believe this…"

* * *

A couple of days had passed and it was now the day that Williams was supposed to be coming back aboard the Normandy. Everyone waited anxiously for her return, especially Shepard. He had taken to waiting in his quarters so nobody would see just how impatient he was.

Another person that was very anxious to see her return was Liara. Her reason for wanting her to return soon was a very different one than Shepard's. She wanted her back to make sure that she didn't come of harm while on board the Bismarck since she felt it was her idea in the first place to send her there. She trusted Adam that Ashley would be fine and returned in about a week so Liara could try and get Shepard's attention.

In the time that Ashley was away, Liara had managed to add another five pounds to her frame. None of it was really all that noticeable to anyone, except for Liara. Her clothes had hell trying to fit around her a little more than before all of this started.

"I might need a new attire before long." she told herself as she saw the damage in a mirror. Her shirt stopped just shy of reaching her pants which now looked like had less space in each leg as well. The only part of her that she could unmistakably tell had grown slightly was her thighs, the other parts of her weren't really visible even to her.

After a few more hours of waiting, Shepard had told Joker to get in touch with headquarters to see what's taking them so long…

"This is Commander Shepard of the U.S.S.V. Normandy, we'd like a status check on a ship known as the Bismarck. We sent a member of our crew to supervise them on their Shakedown run and we've yet to hear from them today.

"Commander, this is headquarters. The ship named Bismarck was not scheduled to make a shakedown run, are you sure you didn't mean the Maelstrom?"

"What?" he answered, suddenly getting a chill up his spine.

"The Bismarck made it's shakedown run months ago, the Maelstrom is the only vessel in the Alliance fleet that is scheduled to perform a shakedown run."

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled at the speaker before slamming his fist down on top of it.


	5. On Route To

**On Route To…**

"How in the hell could this have happened, Udina?!" Shepard yelled out in Udina's office.

"Things like this tend to happen every now and then, Shepard. It's just a fact." Udina replied, sounding almost robotic in his answer.

"That's your damn excuse?!"

"Commander Shepard, I suggest that you tone down your voice…"

"Tone down my voice?" Shepard asked, almost rhetorically. "I'll tone it down when something gets done about this, Udina."

"Something will get done, it just takes ti-"

"Time is not something I feel like waiting for, dammit."

"You don't have a choice in this matter, I will not rush things just because you want them to be." he declared which caused Shepard to turn around and walk quickly towards the door. "And just where are you going now, Commander?"

"To handle things my way…"

"You have no authority to do this, Shepard!"

"The hell I don't, I'm a Spectre and it's about damn time I started throwing my goddamn weight around!" he announced as he left Udina's office with Udina slack-jawed and staring at the slowly closing door.

Back on the Normandy, Joker was busy starting the ship up and getting clearance for take-off before Shepard returned. Before he completed his task, Tali walked in to see what was going on.

"Why are we starting the ship without Commander Shepard being aboard?"

"He's on his way back, he said he'd explain everything once he got back about what's going on too." Joker explained, not really knowing the details either.

"I see, ok then. Thank you." she replied before walking off again, more than likely to the engine room Joker guessed.

"They need a cot or something down there for her…"

"Yes, she does seem to have quite the liking for engineering." Garrus spoke up as he strode into the cockpit area.

Before Joker could respond, a screen flashed signaling an incoming message from Shepard to which Joker patched it through, "Yeah Commander?"

"Fire it up, let's go."

"But sir, you aren't onboard yet… are you?"

"I just stepped onboard, now let's go." he responded before ending the transmission.

"This is going to be a magical trip…"

"By magical you mean… what?" Garrus asked, not understanding the analogy.

"It's a figure of speech, Garrus. I just mean that when the Commander's this worked up, the next mission is always a big one."

"Ah."

Soon after explaining what he meant to Garrus, Joker began turning everything on and preparing for take-off.

"Attention, this is the SSV-Normandy taking off…" he announces to traffic control.

"Negative, you do not have clearance to leave." the voice responded.

"Say what?"

"Orders from upstairs, you are to stay docked until fur-"

"You let us launch or you're going to see what a Spectre is capable of by the time I get up there, soldier." Shepard interrupts.

"S-sir?"

"You heard me, now if I step off of this vessel you know where I'm headed. Now let us launch, _**Now**_"

"SSV-N-Normandy, you have clearance to launch." the scared controller declared.

"What are you doing?!" another controller next to him asked in a hushed tone. "You'll get fired if you let them launch!"

"Shutup!" the other yelled which grabbed everyone else's attention.

No sooner had he said that, the Normandy was leaving the port. After a few seconds of arguing, all the occupants in the control room look out to see the Normandy speeding off into space.

"Uh, Commander… You do realize that what you just did could be considered against the law?"

"I know, Joker. But right now getting Williams back is top priority, we'll worry about the law later on." Shepard told him before switching on the ship's intercom system.

"Attention crew, this is Commander Shepard. We are headed out to track down the ship known as the Bismarck. We have been notified by the Citadel that it is not making a shakedown run, nor is it even an alliance vessel." he announced before looking up through a window and into the deep depths of space.

"Udina has chosen not to pursue this right off and so we're doing this on our own again. I don't want to get the council involved because there will be too much red tape, and right now I don't feel like dealing with them. This is a one crew mission, and we _**will**_ bring Williams back!" he declared enthusiastically.

After the speech ended, Shepard instructed Joker to find Wrex, Garrus, Tali and Liara and tell them to meet him in the COMM room in fifteen minutes. After the instructions were given, Shepard walked off and made his way to the COMM room. He had to make one call before the meeting started.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Shepard. I never knew about it." Anderson replied after hearing what all had happened.

"Dammit… How the hell did he get this close to us without anybody knowing anything about him?!"

"The only thing I can think of is that there's a mole somewhere in the alliance military."

"That would take weeks to uncover, Captain…"

"I know, so while I'm doing this you go ahead and work on your own. If things get hairy because of that hair-brained stunt you pulled to leave I'll try and slow things down."

"Alright, thanks Captain." Shepard responded with a smirk before closing the COMM link. Before he can turn around, he can overhear the chatter as they enter the room behind them. "Glad you all could make it." he told them before turning around to see only Tali, Liara and Garrus.

"Wrex said we could just fill him in later on." Garrus informed Shepard before taking a seat between Tali and Liara.

"Fine, anyways…" Shepard began. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, the ship that was supposedly making a shakedown run, the Bismarck, was a trick…"

After hearing that, all three of them sat up in their seats and began staring wide-eyed at him. All wondering just what he meant. On the other hand, Liara felt a lump in her throat that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"A trick?" Garrus answered.

"Yes, it turns out that the ship known as the Bismarck made it's run months ago."

"But… that would mean that they've probably been planning this for months!"

"You're right…"

"How was this not noticed or stopped before now though?" Tali asked, not believing that something of this caliber could slip through the cracks so easily for so long.

"That's the same thing I asked the higher-ups…" Shepard responded before sitting down as well.

"Do we have any idea where they're going?"

Shepard looked over to Garrus and shook his head slowly, "No, we don't have an idea as to where they are right now."

"I doubt that they would hurt Ms. Williams." Liara spoke up suddenly.

"What makes you so sure?" Garrus asked.

"Well… I… doubt that they would take her and then kill her." she began, "They must be planning to use her as ransom or bait of some kind. It wouldn't make sense to kidnap someone to kill them."

In truth, Liara wanted to tell him what had happened but deep down she felt that he would hate her for it and want her removed from the Normandy crew which was something she felt like she couldn't handle at the moment.

"It makes sense, let's just hope that's what they're doing…" Shepard told them.

* * *

"Commander Levine, we're going to have to re-supply soon."

"Alright, will we be able to make it to our destination if we dial back the thrusters?"

"Yes sir, but it'd make the arrival time three hours later than expected." the pilot informed him before turning to face him for the answer.

"Doesn't matter, by now Shepard's alerting different stations of what's happened and we'd be held up wherever we go. Dial back thrusters, now."

"Yes sir." the pilot replied before spinning back around in his chair and making the necessary changes.

"We can afford to be later than expected, but we can't afford to be held up on a foreign planet…"

Meanwhile, in her room, Ashley was sitting on the edge of the bed and thinking about how things could turn out. On one hand Shepard could show up and rescue her, but the other obvious outcome would be that they never find them and she ends up stuck with Adam for the foreseeable future. She couldn't bare thinking about the latter because it meant that her and Shepard's child would…

"Ms. Williams, I hope you're awake." a voice called from just outside the door.

"How nice of you to be so considerate…" she answered before the door opened to reveal Adam with a tray of food for her.

"I thought it'd be nice of me and bring you your food myself. We can learn more about each other in the process." he told her mockingly before setting the tray down next to her on a table near the bed.

"I'd rather chew on a razor blade."

"You know, flattery will get you nowhere." he responded before a message came across the speakers informing him that a transmission was coming for him from their destination.

"I'm on my way," he told them before turning back to Ashley and smiling again. "It seems our little slumber party's been interrupted, so sorry." he informed her before making his way to her door. "Maybe next time?" and with that, he was gone.

"God he works on my nerves…" she seethed before glancing to the tray of food. Inside she didn't want to have to rely on that bastard for anything, but she knew that she needed to eat. If not for herself, then for the life within her…


	6. Something Old

**Something Old**

After a couple hours of drifting through space, The Bismarck finally reached its location, the old facility that housed the Biotic Cult headed by the then mentally unstable Major Kyle which lightened the mood on the bridge considerably. Adam had began to get restless and antsy considering that he knew if they were spotted by the Normandy, there would be no chance of escape considering the Normandy's massive drive core.

"Transmission coming, should I patch it through?"

"Of course you should, don't be stupid." Adam told the pilot who winced at his response and patched the transmission through.

"Bismarck, please begin docking sequence." the voice commanded before ending the transmission.

"You know what to do," Adam told the pilot and everyone within earshot as he walked off.

"Geez, why does he spend so damn much time with her?"

"Dunno, but I can say that when I first saw her I was shocked."

"Yeah, I hear ya. I never would've expected her to be as big as she is."

As they spoke, the pilot who was also second-in-command turned to them after setting docking parameters. "My guess is that she got relaxed on that ship with Shepard and stopped worrying about staying in top physical shape, you know?"

"I don't know… she did have a reputation of being a hard-ass." one of them responded.

"Yeah, she also used to be a Gunnery Chief on Eden Prime, too." the other added.

"Well, whatever the issue is, she's really plumped up." the pilot noted before turning back to the controls.

Meanwhile, Adam had made his way into Ashley's room and was giving her a new outfit to wear. It looked just like the attire she had on, except it was black with white trim and was two sizes larger.

"I kinda figured you were getting tired of having your gut visible, so here you go." he told her before tossing the outfit onto the bed next to her.

"Tch, you just want me in those so I don't look bad for your grand return." she countered, a smirk on her face. "You know what, I think I like what I'm wearing."

Feeling that she was beginning to turn a corner on him, Adam's smug look vanished and was replaced by a much more stern look.

"Either you put that on, or I'll allow a few crew members to become better acquainted with your bulbous gut." he tells her in a lower tone.

"You wouldn't dare hurt your prized possession…" she told him, calling his bluff.

"Whether we carry you in unconscious, or you walk in. I don't care and it doesn't matter. Just know that whether you like it or not, you're putting that on. Now, I'll be back in fifteen minutes…" he instructed before leaving the room.

Deep down, she didn't want to do what he wanted. But on the flip side, she had a feeling that he meant what he said and she couldn't take the risk…

"Shepard… Where are you?…"

* * *

"Ok, it's been three months since Chief Williams was taken aboard the Bismarck… Why in the hell have we not been able to find one damn lead?" Shepard spoke into the COMM channel.

"Things like this happen a lot, John." the voice answered.

"I know, I just never expected it to happen aboard the Normandy…"

"It happened aboard a couple of the ships I've been aboard. Things like this take time to solve, you just have to do what it takes to reach your destination and not let anything stop you on the way." the soft, female voice instructed.

"You make it sound so easy…"

"Well, there are two reasons for that."

"Those being?"

"I'm your mother, and I know you." she replied with a slight laugh, "I have to be going now, I'm pretty sure that you do too."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks." he told her, "Take care of yourself"

"I will, and you do the same." she told him before the speaker went quiet and the transmission ended.

Shepard sat down and took in a deep breath before sighing, "I wish I had just one lead… That's all I'd need to find that son of a bitch…"

"If things were that easy, I doubt they'd be as fun." Wrex commented as he made his way in.

"You always did have a strange view on 'fun'" Shepard replied as he sat up and turned to the Krogan who sat in a chair across the room.

"You call it strange, I call it ordinary."

"I think all Krogan's probably share that opinion."

"I doubt it, too many of them are too stupid to have opinions on things. Without a leader, they're all just a bunch of war-hungry crazies yelling at each other until the first shot's fired."

"Maybe that's where you should come in, be a leader for your people."

"That's a conversation for another time, Shepard."

"If you say so, Wrex."

"Commander, we have a transmission coming through from the Citadel." Joker cut in across the speaker.

"Anderson again?"

"Actually… It's an agent for the Shadow Broker, he said you know him."

"Barla Von… What could he want?" Shepard wondered aloud. "Patch it through."

"Commander Shepard… I heard from my sources that you're in quite a bind."

"That doesn't really surprise me considering what you do for a living, now what are you contacting me for?"

"Well… If you know what I do for a living… Then you should have an idea."

"You have information regarding the Bismarck and it's whereabouts?" Shepard asked, as he stood up from his seat.

"Yes, as a matter of fact… I do."

"Wait…" Shepard began before folding his arms, "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch, you see… the person at the helm of that ship, Adam Levine is in a similar situation that Saren was in… He went back on an agreement with the Shadow Broker, and now there's a contract out to kill him."

"And the Shadow Broker wants me to get rid of him, right?"

"The Shadow Broker doesn't care… who kills him… as long as he's rendered out of the picture." the volus responded between deep breaths.

"So basically, if I kill him, it takes care of his problems and my problems."

"Like… What's the phrase you humans use?" Garrus spoke up as he entered the room, "Killing two birds with one bone?"

"Stone, Garrus… Stone" Joker corrected over the speaker.

"Fine, it's not like we'll be going out of our way for this." Shepard told Barla Von which got a nod from the volus.

"Very good… happy hunting Commander Shepard. There were reports of seeing a large ship heading towards the planet… That housed the Biotics convent you broke up months ago."

"…That place?"

"I see you remember it… Then my work is done, until our paths cross again." The volus commented before the comm went dead.

"Well, now that we know where to go. I say let's go crack heads…" Wrex suggested with a wry grin.

"I don't normally agree with him, but I do now." Garrus added in to which everyone else in the room and listening in agreed.

"Well, since I know Joker's eavesdropping again…"

"Oh, c'mon commander… I bet you can't even spell eavesdropping." Joker challenged over the speakers.

"Sure, B-I-O-T-I-C…"

"You're so mean to me." he replied sarcastically.

Meanwhile, in the old Biotic haven. Ashley was laying on her back in her bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering when Shepard was coming.

It had been three months since all of this had started, and even though she tried to convince herself otherwise. Her hopes of being rescued were beginning to diminish.

"Maybe this is the horrible thing that's going to ruin my standing in the Alliance… Just like the what happened with my grandpa…" she thought to herself.

While everything around her would seem to be dire, there was one bright spot in the base.

A woman named Mya.

She was the attendant that Adam had instructed to handle Ashley when they first arrived. While Adam seemed to not care either way about Ashley's well-being, most of the time it seemed like Mya went out of her way to keep her as comfortable as possible considering the circumstances.

Even though she didn't like relying on her captors, Ashley was really beginning to warm up to her. And as far as anyone else knew, Mya was taking really good care of their prized captive considering that she looked to have gained roughly thirty pounds in the three months they had been stationed there and it showed. Her outfit was straining to stay on her as her belly was once again peeking out between her shirt and pants by a couple inches. As close as Mya seemed to be with her, Ashley didn't dare divulge that she was pregnant.

"Ashley? Are you awake?" A voice called out from beyond the door.

Ash shifted to her side to look at the door and sighed deeply, "Yeah, I'm awake Mya."

Soon the door opened up and in stepped Mya. Her body was rather petite and her slim face was showered in golden, curled locks of hair that fell to just beyond her shoulders as her hazel eyes beamed. "Here's your lunch."

"You know, if I keep eating like this. I doubt I'll be able to fit through those doors when the alliance comes to find me." she told her before reaching for the glass of water.

Even though they didn't hate each other personally, Mya hated it when Ash talked about the alliance coming to save her. After all, she still worked for Adam. And when the alliance or Shepard were brought up, Mya tended to dismiss the whole thing.

"I doubt that's the case, now eat up."

"That's all I've been doing for the past three months, Mya…"

"Well then there shouldn't be any problems, hm?" she chuckled before going to sit down in the chair next to the bed.

Before she could though, the door opened up and Adam stepped in slowly.

"Commander!" Mya jerked up and saluted before standing at attention, "I wasn't expecting you to be here!"

"Calm down, I'm just here to have a little visit with our little… well… not so little anymore…" he commented with a smirk.

"Screw off…" Ashley replied before sitting upright in the bed, "What do you want?"

Before saying anything else, he motioned for Mya to leave, which she did. He then sat down in the chair Mya was going to sit in and smiled.

"The Alliance called off the search for you." he told her.

"W-what?" she replied, completely blind-sided by this revelation. "That's a lie!"

"Oh no, really, they did. Council member Anderson said so himself, called it a sad, sad day."

"You…. You're lying…" she told him, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

She had always prided herself on being mentally strong… But this was different, everyone she had held close was gone… and now had apparently given up on finding her.

"S-Shepard…"

"Yes, he was there too." Adam told her before standing up and folding his arms. "Anderson's little yes-man was standing right next to him, putting on his best little 'soldier-boy' routine."

She had stopped paying attention as she now sat on the bed with her head down, tears staining the sheets.

"Face it, you're forgotten. Nobody cares anymore, I can do whatever I want with you now."

"That meaning?" she asked, slightly worried about what he might mean.

"You'll see..."


	7. Truth Revealed

**Truth Revealed**

"So what you're saying was that whole giving up the search thing was just a farce?" Joker asked, a little annoyed that he hadn't been kept in the loop.

"That's right." Shepard responded. "We did that hoping that whoever kidnapped Ash would watch and thing that we aren't looking for her anymore."

"So they'd grow lax when it comes to their defenses and stop worrying about being caught… Good idea." Garrus commented with a slight nod.

"It just would've been nice to have been kept in the loop about something like this, commander… She's our friend too, you know."

"Joker, I wasn't in charge of who to tell. It was on a need to know basis, and when it came to the Normandy I was the only one that needed to know."

"Fine… Just… consider us a bit more in the future, alright?"

"Yes Joker, I will…" Shepard responded before seeing Joker turn around and face forward in his chair to check the ships flight path.

"So, aside from Joker and me, who else on the ship knows?"

"Well, nobody as far as I know. Guess I should go tell them." he replied before beginning to make his way to the rear of the ship.

Soon enough he found himself in Dr. Chakwas office and was already in the process of explaining everything to her. Aside from her being a little hurt from not being told what was going on considering her track record, she understood.

"You might want to tell Liara as well, although I'm sure she was next on your list anyways." she told him.

"Yeah, she was next on the list."

"Well, you know where she is."

"Right, thanks Doc." he responded before waving and walking towards Liara's door.

"Oh, commander." Chakwas called out.

"Yeah?"

"Um, don't bring up the elephant in the-… That… wasn't the best choice of wording…"

"It's fine, doc. I know what you meant." he told her before walking through the door and into Liara's quarters.

The elephant in the room that Dr. Chakwas was talking about was, coincidentally, Liara. In the past three months that they had been after Ashley's kidnappers, she'd put on more weight. With roughly thirty more pounds on her frame, it was unable to hide now. The weight had been spreading out evenly throughout her entire body until the last thirty pounds made their presence known. The majority of the new weight found it's way mainly to her hips, butt and thighs giving her quite the sway when she walked.

With her growth in size, she'd had to invest in larger gear and be satisfied with going out on fewer missions due to her larger proportions. Part of the reason she was going out on fewer missions was of her own choice. She thought she would get in the way or slow the others down and chose not to be a hindrance even though she had been the only one bringing it up. To be honest, nobody else really minded her enhanced figure at all.

But…

There was one person who found it alluring. A certain crew member that usually didn't go for "aliens" as some would call them, but with the way she carried her weight elegantly to the point of exuding sexuality (or at least that's how he viewed it) he couldn't resist.

"Busy Liara?" Shepard called out as he entered her room and looking for her in the dimly lit room.

"No Shepard, I'm free." she answered before turning to him with an ever-present smile on her face. "Do you need something?"

"Well, it's actually something that the whole crew will need to hear at some point. I'm just going around to the people it'll probably affect the most and telling them individually about it beforehand." he explained before sitting down in a chair next to her bed and motioning for her to sit down as well to which she complied by sitting on the edge of her bed.

"What is it? Did something happen?" she asked, genuinely worried about what could be this important.

On one hand, she was worried that it was something bad caused by the halt in trying to find Ashley. But another part of her was hoping against hope that somehow… someway… he had finally decided to explore feelings that she knew were there somewhere inside of him…

"It's about Ash… we haven't ended the search to find her." he revealed to her.

"We made the whole announcement and speech hoping that the ones behind it would believe we had given up hope and would let their guard down." he explained to her.

"Oh, I knew we haven't given up on her yet!" she exclaimed before embracing him in a hug. Before too long though she backed away and looked down.

"I… I'm sorry for that, Shepard. I was just caught in the moment…" she stuttered before being stopped by him.

"It's fine, Liara. We're all happy that we haven't given up on her, and we will bring her back no matter what it takes."

After hearing that hope wasn't completely lost, a weight felt like it had been lifted from Liara as she had dreaded the feeling of knowing that she was the reason all of this had happened in the first place. Deep down she knew that she should come clean but she was beyond afraid of what would happen. Yet… something kept urging her to come clean, the thought of knowing that she was at least partly responsible was eating away at her.

"Shepard!" she called out to him just as he was leaving, causing him to stop and lean back into her room.

"Yeah?"

"… I… There's something I need to tell you…"

Feeling like it was something important, Shepard's face hardened as he came back. "What is it, Liara?"

Once she had seen his facial expression change, her heartbeat began to quicken. She felt like it would be jumping into her throat any minute now. Just having this stern look of his focused on her made her feelings of guilt multiply tenfold easily.

"It's… about… It's about As-" she began before hearing the intercom come to life above their heads.

"Uh, Commander. You might wanna come up here…" Joker's voice echoed through.

"What is it, Joker?" Shepard asked as he began to slowly make his way to the door once more.

"It's a transmission meant specifically for us." he responded before being met with a long sigh from Shepard.

"I'm on my way…" he told his pilot before turning back to Liara. "Sorry, but this'll have to wait a bit"

And just like that, he was gone again. Leaving her with only her thoughts and the almost silent hum of the Normandy's engine.

"I have to tell him… I can't keep something like this from him no matter what the consequences may be…"


End file.
